I believe they get about 320 sunny days a year. This is one of the 45 cloudy days. With a 15-20 MPH wind it’s almost brisk outside. The trees attest to the strength of the wind and down by the sea you will feel spray. The Occidental Roca Negra Hotel is well above any spray.
--February 23, 2024 at 12:15 PM.
Maps are centered on the photo: Google map, Apple map, OpenTopoMap map
Today is oging to be one of the 45 or so cloudy days they have here. At least that seems to be what various information sources suggest. The free day has come at a good time as it will give Mom a chance to beat back the cold she is hosting. Hopefully by Saturday she will feel up to tackling the 4th walk. We just spent our time at the hotel with a couple quick jaunts down to the sea to see the salt water pools get blasted by the 4 to 5 meter waves, according to a coastal weather event warning though surely the spray was that high but I’m not sure about the waves. We also had to get some more lunch and snack food. No doubt others in the group did a variety of things on their day off. Also perhaps there is more we could have done but it’s just not easy getting about or so it feels.
This is just a small spray. I wasn’t ever able to catch the larger ones that actually sent a bit of water to land on my skin.
--February 23, 2024 at 10:51 AM.
Maps are centered on the photo: Google map, Apple map, OpenTopoMap map
* * * * *
We are taking a second day off. Perhaps I could have done the walk but I didn’t want to feel like a burden on the group. I know physically I can do the walk but I might well move more slowly than the others and they’d feel put-upon (whether I think that is reasonable or not). Mom is still under the weather and that means she wasn’t going to go regardless. I am unhappy with this turn of events but suppose it is for the best even if it feels less than fair. That’s an indictment of my own state of mind. We will do something in town. More than yesterday. I hope so. Boy am I lousy at figuring out what that should be on short notice.
Time passes...
Dad and I took a round-about stroll into Agaete. Round-about because I always seem to have trouble getting started on either Apple or Google Maps walking directions. Once I find the route I do well enough. Mom is definitely better at getting oriented than Dad or I am. It’s an overcast blustery morning as we work our way down the bustling roads down into the heart of the town. Our goal is to find the Huerto de las Flores (Botanical Garden). It took us a bit longer than it probably should have but we found it. It is well worth the €1 per person entry fee (cash not accepted). WIthin the small confines is a dense forest of all types of plants. Neither Dad or I have any idea what we were seeing but it is well laid out and maintained. It’s also surprisingly quiet within the garden. While I am doubtfult that you could take a family and spend hours inside as some websites suggest you certainly can get a nice respite. There are some truly spectacular trees like the Spotted Fig shown in the photo.
After leaving the garden and getting a couple coffee-drinks and a muffin (about €3.60 - that might get you a tiny cappuccino back home) we slowly worked our way back to the hotel. That was done with a little confusion along the way but we found ourselves retracing some of the walk we had done two days ago as we headed down towards the ocean. Once there it became clear that it was indeed sprinkling a bit and with winds blowing easily over 20MPH and gusting considerably more forcefully that sprinkle seemed much more intense. We were not soaked but we did get damp as we climbed the winding pavers path up to the hotel.
As I type this patches of blue sky are drifting by and the sun has appeared for for a few minutes at a time now and then. A person is swimming in the oddly shaped pool; another is in the jacuzzi - should I go? - probably not. The temperature is in the mid-60s (upper teens centigrade) but as the lady tending the ppol-side bar said as she served me some (mediocre) french fries, “muy frio.” That is more proof that how we feel about the weather is subjective.
With luck we will be able to do the walk tomorrow. It’s supposedly 5 miles with 200 feet ascent and something like 2,900 feet of descent. Must be mostly downhill though we have no real idea what the trail/paths might be like. I don’t even really have enough information to figure out where the walk will be let alone where it is going (maybe others are smarter about that). I wish they’d provide at least basic map information. We’ve heard it stated by one guide that they don’t want to spoil the surprises of the walks but I think that’s a lame argument. Time will, as always, tell.
Dad is standing in front of this remarkable Spotted Fig tree. The bark is particularly striking. The tree sits inside this lovely little botanical gardens located in the center of Agaete.
--February 24, 2024 at 11:01 AM.
Maps are centered on the photo: Google map, Apple map, OpenTopoMap map
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